Mean machine in perfect working order at the back
THIRTY five minutes into a scruffy and squally contest the ground began to contemplate a possible shock. Norwich had sprung the offside trap and Lukas Rupp bore down on Liverpool’s goal with Teemu Pukki alongside, ready to provide assistance.
You expected Norwich to score but the giant figure of Alisson Becker then loomed into view. In that instant, the odds dramatically increased on Norwich scoring.
Rupp fatally hesitated, Alisson plunged to his feet and, in a flash, scooped the ball away as Pukki held his arms high in despair.
Chances of this nature come rarely against Liverpool. They might be a winning machine who score at the right moments, but what is carrying them to the title is their desire to keep goals out.
It is 408 days since Liverpool lost in the Premier League — and yesterday showed why. This wasn’t their most flamboyant performance but it was full of the virtues that have made them the best.
Given Liverpool’s position in the table, Jurgen Klopp knows the narrative about breaking records and striding to silverware is unavoidable, but it didn’t stop him trying to create a pre-match storyline of his own about
Norwich’s qualities.
Some would have taken that as offering support for a compatriot but Klopp knew the first test back after the break against Daniel Farke’s well-organised and energetic team was loaded with danger. For all the bobbing and weaving and scuffling, Norwich could not deliver a meaningful blow. They should not feel downhearted: plenty of others have tried this season, only to be left frustrated.
When these sides faced each other in August, Liverpool’s defending was erratic. The 4-0 half-time scoreline did not reflect 45 minutes in which Norwich had created plenty of acceptable opportunities.
Gradually, however, Liverpool have developed their miserly ways. Having kept just two clean sheets in their first seven away league fixtures, they have only conceded an away league goal once in the past two-and-a-half months — at Wolves on January 23.
That is also the only time they have been breached in the league since December 7 – one goal against in 990 minutes.
You can highlight the quality of individuals but Liverpool do not boast such a formidable defensive record because Virgil van Dijk stands in the middle or because Alisson is between the posts. This is down to the collective.
Van Dijk has played his best football since Joe Gomez returned to form and fitness in December; the pair complement each other perfectly and a measure of Gomez’s soaring confidence came in the first 45 minutes when he cushioned a ball over his head to start an attack.
Gomez stretched his legs and craned his neck to snuff out danger but he was not alone. All around, men in red chased back with their arms pumping like pistons to preserve the zero. They simply don’t concede and don’t want to be beaten. It is why they have one hand on the title.